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My Radical Playoff Idea

I am proposing that there be an 18 team playoff. I came to the number 18 based on the fact that there are 11 FBS conferences plus the independents. So 12 schools will automatically qualify in this playoff scenario...the 11 conference champs and then whoever has the best record of the independents (most likely Notre Dame). The remaining 6 teams are at large bids. 6 is the number Automatic Qualifying conferences right now ...so in essence every AQ conference could have one at large bid. However, the remaining 6 teams would be the highest ranking BCS teams who had not won their conference. So this is really 12 team play off plus the extra conference champs. Teams would be seeded by their BCS ranking (does the BCS only go to 25? We would need to have some sort of system for ranking the bottom teams...maybe purely computer because I dont see voters wanting to list out all 100-something teams). Here's how I would propose the scheduling would work:

First week of December conference championships
Second week of December 1st round: Seed 16 vs 17 play for the opportunity to play 1. Seed 15 vs 18 plays for the opportunity to play 2. These are like the play in games for NCAA basketball. Everyone else gets a bye.
Third week of December Round 2 1 plays winner of 16 vs 17 2 plays winner of 15 v 18...and seeds 3 - 14 play each other accordingly. The first real round
Fourth week ... around chirstmas time...quarter finals
5th week New Years Day are semi finals
2nd week of January Finals

Obviously this is a longer format but under the current scheduling system it would work this way. I would be in favor of cutting the regular season back a game (cut out one patsy game that we can all do without and make the regular season an 11 game schedule) and starting this whole thing a week earlier...throwing in a bye on Christmas and finishing at the same time.

What do you think? Obviously bigger than the 4 and 8 team play offs...but I like this because it treats FBS football as a whole like the NCAA basketball tournament...and the current system really doesnt. It's divided into AQ schools and non AQ schools. This would create controversy because it doesn't include the best 18 teams, but under this system last year the top 8 would have got in. So, it's tough to argue that you're good enough if you aren't in this system. You can argue you're better than the MAC champ, but that's not the point. The point is to treat FBS football as a whole giving every conference a shot and put the best teams in there. I think this is a good compromise between the conference champ debate and taking the best teams available debate,. Do I think it will ever get implemented? No, but I do like this idea.

Quick foot note: I think this would radically change college football and smaller schools would get better and better since they would have a shot. Talent would probably be more spread out which would make football more interesting.

Quick foot note: I think this would radically change college football and smaller schools would get better and better since they would have a shot. Talent would probably be more spread out which would make football more interesting.

Every one of these reasons is why a Nebraska fan should oppose such a setup.

Who wants KState, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, North Texas, Memphis, North Carolina-Charlotte ... get better and having a shot? Who wants the talent more spread out than it already is?

NU would be better off in a more exclusionary environment.

The life you lead is the life you teach!
The best angle to approach any problem is from the TRYangle!

Every one of these reasons is why a Nebraska fan should oppose such a setup.

Who wants KState, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, North Texas, Memphis, North Carolina-Charlotte ... get better and having a shot? Who wants the talent more spread out than it already is?

NU would be better off in a more exclusionary environment.

North Carolina Charlotte won't have a team until 2013. UNCC will start out playing 1AA football and won't be eligible for a playoff(with the big boys). Do you think they will be in our playoff anytime soon? If UNCC is going to be that good that soon I will have to get some tickets it's right up the road.

The bad news is our sellout will soon end. All the anti-playoff people feel that college football will be ruined by any kind of playoff. I am sure the app's will give up their tickets.

Cowardsdie many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.

North Carolina Charlotte won't have a team until 2013. UNCC will start out playing 1AA football and won't be eligible for a playoff(with the big boys). Do you think they will be in our playoff anytime soon? If UNCC is going to be that good that soon I will have to get some tickets it's right up the road.

The bad news is our sellout will soon end. All the anti-playoff people feel that college football will be ruined by any kind of playoff. I am sure the app's will give up their tickets.

The point is not UNCC but rather the idea that the plan will allow fringe programs the opportunity to compete for a championship is NOT in the best interest of the NU program.

Increased competition will eat away at those things that make NU unique. We need to protect those things by limiting access to those programs that have earned it over time.

The life you lead is the life you teach!
The best angle to approach any problem is from the TRYangle!

Every one of these reasons is why a Nebraska fan should oppose such a setup.

Who wants KState, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, North Texas, Memphis, North Carolina-Charlotte ... get better and having a shot? Who wants the talent more spread out than it already is?

NU would be better off in a more exclusionary environment.

In the old days, this would be absolutely correct. But if playoffs are coming, with Bo at the helm we should be in favor of the maximum possible participants. We want to have at least that slim chance of making the playoffs. Think there is a conference that we could join and win?

In the old days, this would be absolutely correct. But if playoffs are coming, with Bo at the helm we should be in favor of the maximum possible participants. We want to have at least that slim chance of making the playoffs. Think there is a conference that we could join and win?

Yes I do, the Big 10. Just watch the winner of the Michigan-Nebraska game will win the Legend's Division.

The life you lead is the life you teach!
The best angle to approach any problem is from the TRYangle!

I am proposing that there be an 18 team playoff. I came to the number 18 based on the fact that there are 11 FBS conferences plus the independents. So 12 schools will automatically qualify in this playoff scenario...the 11 conference champs and then whoever has the best record of the independents (most likely Notre Dame). The remaining 6 teams are at large bids. 6 is the number Automatic Qualifying conferences right now ...so in essence every AQ conference could have one at large bid. However, the remaining 6 teams would be the highest ranking BCS teams who had not won their conference. So this is really 12 team play off plus the extra conference champs. Teams would be seeded by their BCS ranking (does the BCS only go to 25? We would need to have some sort of system for ranking the bottom teams...maybe purely computer because I dont see voters wanting to list out all 100-something teams). Here's how I would propose the scheduling would work:

First week of December conference championships
Second week of December 1st round: Seed 16 vs 17 play for the opportunity to play 1. Seed 15 vs 18 plays for the opportunity to play 2. These are like the play in games for NCAA basketball. Everyone else gets a bye.
Third week of December Round 2 1 plays winner of 16 vs 17 2 plays winner of 15 v 18...and seeds 3 - 14 play each other accordingly. The first real round
Fourth week ... around chirstmas time...quarter finals
5th week New Years Day are semi finals
2nd week of January Finals

Obviously this is a longer format but under the current scheduling system it would work this way. I would be in favor of cutting the regular season back a game (cut out one patsy game that we can all do without and make the regular season an 11 game schedule) and starting this whole thing a week earlier...throwing in a bye on Christmas and finishing at the same time.

What do you think? Obviously bigger than the 4 and 8 team play offs...but I like this because it treats FBS football as a whole like the NCAA basketball tournament...and the current system really doesnt. It's divided into AQ schools and non AQ schools. This would create controversy because it doesn't include the best 18 teams, but under this system last year the top 8 would have got in. So, it's tough to argue that you're good enough if you aren't in this system. You can argue you're better than the MAC champ, but that's not the point. The point is to treat FBS football as a whole giving every conference a shot and put the best teams in there. I think this is a good compromise between the conference champ debate and taking the best teams available debate,. Do I think it will ever get implemented? No, but I do like this idea.

Does this mean that winner of the University of Idaho and San Jose St. game qualify every year since they will soon be the only two teams in the WAC. That would be exciting to see a 1-11 team in a playoff.

IF there has to be a playoff, I prefer the commitee approach like what's used in hoops. Because the scheduling is so mis-proportioned, to me it only makes sense to have a panel of appointed members (NON media, NON conference chair-people) decide which teams have earned the right to compete for the NC. No computers, no voters....just a group of knowledgable, fair-minded people. Who those people are I have no idea, but I'd start with Red Phoenix.

IF there has to be a playoff, I prefer the commitee approach like what's used in hoops. Because the scheduling is so mis-proportioned, to me it only makes sense to have a panel of appointed members (NON media, NON conference chair-people) decide which teams have earned the right to compete for the NC. No computers, no voters....just a group of knowledgable, fair-minded people. Who those people are I have no idea, but I'd start with Red Phoenix.

I like the automatic bids for Conference Champions, but I don't like an automatic berth for the best Independent school. I think that, like the current BCS system, an independent school should only get in if they're ranked in the Top 8 or 10 of the final BCS.

Army and Navy consistently produce losing seasons. Like they win 4 games a year. And maybe they'll have one good season out of ten. BYU is generally a bowl eligible team, but they'll also win about 6-8 games a year.

So basically, you're just giving the Domers a free shot at the playoffs every year. Notre Dame routinely schedules Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford and USC - which are all respectable games. But last year they stockpiled the rest of the schedule with Purdue, Air Force, Navy, and a bunch of lower-tier ACC schools like Pitt and Wake Forest. The Domers are virtually guaranteed 6 wins a season, so all they need are a couple good (not great) games against USC or Michigan and they're in.